Coupler for dynamometer purposes



July 1,1952 s. H. FlLLloN 2,601,781

4COUPLER FOR DYNAMOMETER PURPOSES F/iled Dec. 9, 195o Patented July 1, `1952.

ED: NT GFF ICE COUPLEREORLD'YNAMOMETER'PRPOSES" Stanley-*'H.v Fillion, I Scarsda1e;-N. Y., assignerto Wauglr: Equipment fCompany; .New York; N; Y., acorporation'-ofrMaine Y Application'December 9, 19501 Serial.No.'199,9'5'9` 3.Claims'.

Thise invention relates: to couplers for*` use.Y on railwayvehiclesV` and consisting of .a'l shank :to 'be connected v"to ayokel encirclingfthe' draftgear 'of the-'veliicle or ^to' a cushion funderfralnef onthef-ve'-v hi'cle; and afliead"1to-be*eng`aged with? the headof thecouplenf'on tlieadjacentveliiclea More par-1` ticularly,' the invention xrelat'esfto'a'rnovel lcoupler forv--usefinfthe dynamometer testing of draft gears and cushion underframes for the purpose of determining theireflicacyinabsorbingshocks transmitted 'through the# coupler? to: the'A structureof the vehicle.

At the presenttimefin the` testingtof cushioning mechanism, such as draft gears, employed on railway'cars, it is importantto know th'ecfrces transmitted lto thecar-structurefthrough thefdraf t gear asla function -ofYA time,l The fintensityeof the forcesa may be determinedby* strain gauges' applied to the coupler shank and, since the intensity of the forces varies with time and the forces are, in some cases, vibratory in nature, it is desirable to employ strain gauges, such as those of the electrical resistance type, which will give simultaneous readings at a number of points. Such gauges may be readily mounted on the sills in such positions as to give accurate readings but it is not possible to mount the gauges in that manner on the shank of an ordinary coupler. The reasons are that the shank of such a coupler is of hollow rectangular section, so that the inner surface of the wall is inaccessible, and the coupler is cast of a grade B steel, which is unlikely to have a uniform modulus of elasticity. Accordingly, for accurate results, the gauges should be mounted on the shank in pairs, with one gauge of each pair on the outside of the Wall of the shank and the other on the inside of the wall opposite the first. However, there is no Way of mounting the gauges on the inner surface of the shank, since the formation of access openings in the wall would weaken the shank objectionably.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a coupler, which has a conventional head and butt and is so constructed that it may be readily used in the dynamometer testing of cushioning mechanism by means of electrical strain gauges. The new coupler includes the usual shank connecting the head and butt, and the shank has a portion of standard hollow rectangular section. The remainder of the shank, which preferably lies adjacent the head, consists of a section made of a steel having a modulus of elasticity constant over the entire loading range and constructed with end walls lying transverse to the shank and opposed side walls connecting the end walls'.l 'Iheend and sideA wallsidefine a? space rectangular! in". section', which is isubdivid'd into tivo'parts lb'y a2 central 'longitudinalwall'lconn ct'- ed to the end and side walls. Withrthearrange ment described, the opposite faces of the'longitudinal Walland of biotliside' Walls'far accessible, sothat'a plurality of electrical strairiv gaugesrnay bermountedlth'ereoniri pairstwith' the gauges of al1 :pairs-1 responsive1'V to'r strains' 1in`- approkimaftly the'fsamefvolume of metal. Tests' conductediwith the: new 'coupler are, accordingly; t more accurate than' those madewith 'conventional couplers, since errors': arising from' variation'sin thev 'modulus .i of elasticity'Y of the metal a,r1`clfrornv differencesl in thickness of the r shank' wall-aref eliminated.

For a w better* understanding'. of the invention, reference?-v mayt' beil made to' the" accompanying drawing,.in which:

Fig. l is a top plan View of one form of the new coupler;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2 2 and 3 3, respectively, the gauges being shown in position in Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of the test section of the coupler of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical longitudinal section of another form of the coupler.

The coupler of the invention in the form shown in Fig. l includes a conventional head I0 and swivel butt II connected by a shank I2. The portion I2a of the shank is of hollow rectangular section, as is usual, and it is connected to the head IIJ by a test section, generally designated I3.

The test section I3 may be separately formed and connected to the head I0 and shank portion I2a by welding, as indicated at M. Section I3 comprises end walls I5 extending transversely and connected by upper and lower side walls IB, I'I. The end and side walls dene a space divided .by a central longitudinal Wall I8, the faces of which are exposed at opposite sides of the shank. The test section may be made by casting and the side walls may be machined to uniform thickness, if necessary. In addition, the outer faces of the side walls may be longitudinally slotted to receive the strain gauges I9 and other strain gauges 2G may be mounted on the inner faces of the Walls aligned with those on the outer faces. The pairs of gauges, one on the inner face and the other on the outer face of each side Wall, are properly spaced so that all pairs of gauges respond to forces imposed on approximately the same cross-sectional area of metal. Gauges 2| are also mounted in pairs on the opthe strain gauges mounted on the walls of the test section are connected in series parallel with a source of energy and a recording meter. When a force is imposed on the coupler, the resistance of the gauges varies in response to the force and the change in resistance is a measure of the force. Since the gauges can be mounted in pairs on the inner and outer faces of the longitudinally extending central and side Walls of the test section, the gauges can be distributed in the proper arrangement to give accurate measurements and eliminate errors which would arise, if the gauges were mounted on the outer faces only of the walls of the test section.

I claim:

1. A coupler comprising a head and a shank, the shank including a test portion having a pair of spaced transverse end Walls, a pair of opposed side walls connecting the end walls along corresponding edges thereof, and a central longitudinal wall connected to the end and side Walls, and a plurality of strain gauges mounted in pairs on the inner and outer surfaces of the side walls and opposite faces of the central wall, the gauges extending lengthwise of the shank.

2. A coupler comprising a head and a shank, the shank including a test portion having a pair of spaced transverse end Walls, a pair of opposed side walls connecting the end walls along corresponding edges thereof, and a central longitudinal wall connected to the end and side walls, the outer surfaces of the side walls having spaced channels lengthwise of the shank, and a plurality of strain gauges mounted in pairs on the opposite faces of the central wall and on the inner and outer surfaces of the side Walls, the gauges on the outer surfaces of the side Walls lying within the channels and all the gauges extending lengthwise of the shank.

3. A metallic test section for use as part of the shank of a coupler, which comprises a pair of spaced end walls, a pair of opposed side Walls connecting Ythe end Walls along corresponding edgestherecf, the outer surfaces of the side walls being formed with spaced parallel channels extending lengthwise of the walls, a central longitudinal wall connected to the end and side walls, and strain gauges mounted in pairs of the side and central walls, one gauge of each pair lying on the inner surface and the other gauge of the pair lying on the outer surface of :a wall, the pairs of gauges being spaced so that all pairs respond to strains in substantially the same volume of metal and the gauges on the outer surfaces of the side Walls lying in the channels.

STANLEY H. FILLION.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruge July 17, 1951 

